Sixth MPD officer relieved of duty at start of Tyre Nichols internal investigation

A sixth Memphis Police officer has been placed on leave in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old driver who died after a traffic stop.

Officer Preston Hemphill was placed on leave, a spokesperson for MPD confirmed to The Commercial Appeal Monday morning. The spokesperson confirmed Hemphill, who was hired by MPD in 2018, has been on leave since the beginning of the investigation.

Later Monday, the department issued a statement saying that seven officers in total were relieved of duty on Jan. 8, the day after Nichols was beaten, Tased and pepper sprayed.

The seven include five who have been charged with second degree murder in Nichols' death, Hemphill and a seventh officer who has not been publicly identified.

"The five officers terminated were directly involved at the first and second scene where Mr. Nichols was physically abused and suffered serious injuries," the news release said. "Officer Preston Hemphill and other officer's actions and inactions have been and continue to be the subject of this investigation since its inception on January 8, 2023."

"Numerous charges still developing (are) impending," the release said.

In its initial narrative, MPD said the officers involved had been relieved of duty, but did not say how many officers that was. The police department again declined to give a total number of officers, when confirming Hemphill's leave Monday.

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Memphis police declined to specify the reasons for Hemphill being placed on leave. Hemphill has not been charged with a crime.

The department did not respond the The Commercial Appeal's question as to whether Hemphill was part of the SCORPION Unit, a specialized unit that focused on concentrating officers in areas with high crime. Five former officers have been charged in Nichols' death were on assignment with the unit on Jan. 7. The unit is now permanently disbanded and under investigation.

Those five former officers were fired Jan. 20 as a result of MPD's internal investigation into the events that preceded Nichols' death. They were indicted about a week later and now face second-degree murder charges, along with assault and kidnapping charges.

The Commercial Appeal confirmed Monday afternoon that Hemphill had retained defense attorney Lee Gerald.

"I can confirm that I represent Memphis Police Officer Preston Hemphill, who was the third officer at the initial stop of Mr. Nichols. Video one is his body cam footage," Gerald told The Commercial Appeal in an email statement. "As per departmental regulations, Officer Hemphill activated his body cam. He was never present at the second scene. He is cooperating with officials in this investigation."

In the body camera footage, that was taken from Hemphill's point of view according to Gerald, officers can be heard yelling at Nichols to get out of his car before they are seen forcibly removing him from the car in body camera footage from the scene of the initial traffic stop.

Officers hold Nichols down and are hit by pepper spray that was deployed by another officer. The camera shakes as Nichols runs and an officer, that Gerald identified as Hemphill, shoots at him with a taser.

After a brief chase, Hemphill, who is white, stops running after Nichols, turns back and can be heard saying, "I hope they stomp his ass."

The Commercial Appeal asked Gerald if he anticipates Hemphill being charged with a crime. He did not respond to that question.

He also did not respond to a question asking if Hemphill was part of the SCORPION Unit.

When announcing the initial charges against the five former officers, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said those indictments do not prevent further charges from being filed. Monday afternoon, DA spokeswoman Erica Williams reaffirmed that statement.

"We are look at all individuals involved in the events leading up to, during, and after the beating of Tyre Nichols," Williams said. "This includes the officer present at the initial encounter (Hemphill) who has not — so far — been charged, Memphis Fire Department personnel, and persons who participated in preparing documentation of the incident afterward."

Williams said the DA's office worked quickly to charge the first five officers, "whose offenses were plain and clear and directly contributed to the death of Mr. Nichols," but said their investigation is not over.

The FBI is also investigating the circumstances of Nichols' death.

Nichols died Jan. 10, three days after he was beaten and then hospitalized.

In a written statement, attorneys for Nichols' family said the news that Hemphill was relieved of duty weeks ago, but not terminated was "extremely disappointing."

"Why is his identity and the role he played in Tyre’s death just now coming to light?" asked attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci. "We have asked from the beginning that the Memphis Police Department be transparent with the family and the community – this news seems to indicate that they haven’t risen to the occasion. It certainly begs the question why the white officer involved in this brutal attack was shielded and protected from the public eye, and to date, from sufficient discipline and accountability. The Memphis Police Department owes us all answers.”

Katherine Burgess contributed to this report.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Nichols investigation: 6th MPD officer relieved of duty at start